


Love letters

by MiriRainbowitz



Series: Pinto fics [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Star Trek RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Secret Admirer, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-08-03
Packaged: 2018-02-11 13:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2070786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiriRainbowitz/pseuds/MiriRainbowitz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Over the week leading up to Valentine's Day, Chris gets letters from an anonymous admirer. </p><p>Thanks to zjo for suggesting writing sprints, and zjo, ato, and lizard for participating in them with me :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love letters

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be the first in a series of Pinto fics. Yay!

“I hate Quidditch,” Chris grumbled as he sat down next to his friend Alice at the Gryffindor table.

“No, you don’t,” she replied. “You just hate _practicing_ Quidditch.”

Chris tried to glare at her, but the attempt was half-hearted, considering how cold and hungry and miserable he was. “I just don’t understand why John has us practicing now,” he said. “Our next game isn’t for another 6 weeks.”

“He probably just wants to make sure you’re ready,” Alice answered.

“Yeah, but dragging all of us out of our beds at ass o’clock to practice on a February morning is just torture,” Chris said. “It took us half an hour to get warmed up, and then it was still too dark to do anything useful.”

“Maybe you should talk to him about rescheduling practices then,” Alice replied.

“I might just do that,” Chris said. “He’s got us scheduled for another morning practice in a few days too.”

“Good luck convincing him,” Alice said as she turned back to her breakfast. She and Chris ate in silence for a few minutes.

When Chris was almost finished eating, the sound of rustling started to get louder as the Great Hall began to fill with owls. Chris didn’t look up- he wasn’t expecting to get any mail.

As such, Chris almost jumped out of his seat when an owl landed on the table in front of him, a letter tied to its leg. After Chris didn’t move to take the letter, the owl held out its foot towards him, and he reached forward slowly and untied the letter from the owl’s leg. As soon as Chris took the letter, the owl flew off, disappearing into the flock of owls now filling the Great Hall.

Chris turned to look at Alice, who shrugged. “Come on, Chris, open it,” she said. “It’s not going to explode.”

Chris unrolled the letter and put it on the table between him and Alice. The letter read:

_Dear Chris,_

_Has anyone ever told you how beautiful your eyes are? Actually, scratch that question- of course people have. You have the most stunning eyes I’ve ever seen. I've always had a hard time describing their color, but when you’re happy, they look like the blue opal on a necklace that belongs to my mother._

_With love,_  
 _X_

“Do you think this is real?” asked Chris.

“Why wouldn't it be?” answered Alice. “You do have lovely eyes.”

“I guess,” Chris said, nodding. He looked around the hall, but nothing stood out to him.

“So who do you think it is?” asked Alice.

Chris knew who he _wanted_ to be the writer, but the chance that Zach actually was the writer was slim. “I don’t know,” he finally said. He looked around the hall one last time, before putting the letter into a pocket in his bag and standing up. “Let’s go, or we’ll be late for Potions.”

 

Chris couldn’t concentrate in either of his classes that morning, his mind too busy thinking about the letter. He needed to talk about the letter some more, but Alice was working with someone else in Potions, and he was the only Gryffindor in Ancient Runes.

When it was finally time for lunch, he hurried down to the Great Hall as quickly as possible, deciding to quickly snag some food before dragging Zach away to discuss the letter in private.

At the thought of talking to Zach, Chris felt his heart stutter a bit, as it had started doing last summer, although of course Zach didn’t – couldn’t— know about it. After all, Zach wasn’t just someone he had a crush on- he and Chris had grown up together, so despite Zach being a year older and in Slytherin, he and Chris were about as close as brothers. They were certainly closer to each other than their actual siblings, but Chris was 6 years younger than his sister Katie, and Zach was 5 years younger than his brother Joe.

Fortunately for Chris, lunch today was an easily packaged shepherd’s pie, which he wrapped in a napkin. After he did that, he walked out of the Great Hall and stood there for a minute before he spotted Zach coming down the stairs, talking with one of his house-mates.

“Zach!” Chris called, and Zach turned to look at Chris, a smile lighting up his face. He walked over and asked, “What’s up?”

“I need to talk with you,” replied Chris. “Somewhere private.”

“Let me just grab-” started Zach, but Chris held up the pies he was carrying. “Ah. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Chris replied.

When Chris and Zach wanted to talk in private, they went to one of the empty classrooms. Today’s empty classroom was one that overlooked the lake, so they decided to sit on one of the wide windowsills instead of at the desks.

After they were finished eating, Zach said, “So what did you want to talk about?”

Chris reached into his bag and pulled out the letter. “I got this this morning,” he said. “And…here, just read it.”

Zach took the letter from his hand, an unidentifiable expression quickly crossing his face. After a few seconds, he handed the letter back to Chris.

“It seems to be from a secret admirer,” Zach deadpanned. “I mean, what’s the big deal?”

“I just- I don’t- I’ve never gotten anything like this,” replied Chris. “What should I do about it?”

“Nothing,” said Zach. “So far h- _they_ haven’t asked you to do anything.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Chris replied. “I don’t know, it’s just- I needed to talk to someone else about this, and you’re my best friend.”

“Yes I am,” said Zach, smiling. “Anyway, I have to go finish my Transfiguration essay.”

“Okay, see you later,” said Chris.

 

Now that he had talked to Zach about the letter, Chris managed to put it out of his mind until much later in the evening. He had finished all of his homework and was sitting in a chair by the fireplace, watching the flames, when his thoughts finally wandered back to the letter.

Chris reached into his bag and pulled out the letter. After looking at it for a while, he decided that the writer was definitely someone who knew him well (which probably meant someone in Gryffindor and either in his year or 6th year), and was taking pains to conceal his or her identity, because no one he knew wrote that neatly.

Chris was so lost in thought that he jumped when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Alice standing next to his chair.

“I know that letter is a bit fascinating, but you do have to go to sleep tonight too,” she said. Chris looked around the common room and realized that it was pretty empty.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks, Alice,” he replied. He put the letter and his homework into his bag and went over to the stairs. Once he got to his dorm, he put his bag away, stripped off his robe, pants, and shoes, and crawled into bed.

Despite the fact that his head was spinning with thoughts and questions about the letter, Chris managed to fall asleep relatively quickly, as evidenced by the fact that he woke up feeling pretty well-rested. He spent an extra minute in his bed, luxuriating in the fact that he wasn’t outside practicing Quidditch right now, before getting up.

When Chris went down to the Great Hall for breakfast, he grabbed two apples and a banana and put them into his bag, then sat down and started eating. At some point, Alice sat down next to him.

When he was almost done eating, Chris heard the rustling that heralded the arrival of the morning mail, and looked up. After a few seconds of looking at the owls swooping overhead, he turned his attention back to his plate.

The thump of an owl landing on the table startled him again. The owl today was different from yesterday, but the letter that was tied to its leg looked the same. Chris untied the letter, but the owl stayed, looking at a piece of Chris’s toast.

Chris sighed and gestured at the piece of toast, which the owl promptly grabbed and flew off with. He unrolled the letter and started to read.

_Dear Chris,_

_Your eyes are your most stunning feature, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the only part of you worth complimenting. For example, your mouth- I could talk (heh) about it for ages. Your little habit of licking your lips all the time is very distracting. Honestly, the things I’ve thought about doing to your mouth- but I probably shouldn’t talk about them in a letter that other people might read. ~~Although, perhaps, you’d let me tell you what I want to do in private?~~_

_With love,_  
 _X_

Chris felt his mouth fall open slightly in shock. _That’s a… bit of a change from yesterday_ , he thought. He turned to look at Alice, who was watching him. “Read it,” Chris managed to get out, and handed her the letter.

“That’s…interesting,” she replied, handing the letter back. “Looks like your admirer is getting bolder.”

“No kidding,” Chris scoffed. He looked around the room, but the same as yesterday, no one stood out. “Y’know, I think I’m going to go put this back in my dorm. It’ll probably be safer.” He got up, tucked the letter into one of his pockets, and hurried out of the Great Hall.

 

Chris got through the day better than yesterday, trying to keep today’s letter out of his mind. As a result, he almost forgot to ask Zach to meet him after dinner to talk. The smirk on Zach’s face indicated that he knew exactly what he and Chris would be discussing.

After he was done eating dinner, he hurried back to his dorm and got the letter, and went down to the Great Hall to get Zach. At that point, Zach had finished eating, and was slouching at the Slytherin table, his face arranged in an attractive pout.

“Hey Zach, come on!” Chris called, and Zach looked up and smiled. He walked over to where Chris was standing and said, “Same place as yesterday?”

“Yeah,” Chris replied. He and Zach left and went to the empty classroom.

“You said yesterday that the writer didn’t tell me to do anything,” Chris started. “But…today- he sort of did?” He handed Zach the letter, which Zach perused.

“He?” replied Zach. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know- I was just… _hoping_ it’d be a boy,” said Chris. “So- he. But that crossed-out line- is he hinting about going on a date?”

“I don’t know, Chris,” answered Zach. When Chris opened his mouth, Zach continued. “But- that does seem to be what it’s implying.”

“What if I don’t want to go on a date with him?” asked Chris petulantly. “Do you think I should write back to him and tell him to back off?”

Zach was silent for a while. “You know what I think?” he said eventually. “He’s probably building up to asking you out. I mean, Valentine’s Day is this Friday. Chances are, he’ll ask you then, and at that point, you can decide if you want to go on a date with him or not.”

“Oh,” breathed Chris. “Yeah. I _completely_ forgot about Valentine’s Day, can you believe it? John’s working us really hard, and all the teachers are already starting O.W.L. prep.”

“Early morning practices?” asked Zach. “Tell him to stop or reschedule- you shouldn’t be complaining so much about Quidditch. It’s getting a bit ludicrous. And you’ll do fine on your O.W.L.s, but you really do have to start prepping now.”

“I know,” said Chris. “But- thanks, Zach.” He leaned over and pulled Zach into a hug, valiantly resisting the urge to bury his face in Zach’s neck. After a few seconds, he pulled away. “I should probably go now, I have to write an essay on the Giant Wars for History of Magic.”

“Have fun with that,” Zach snorted. Chris smiled back at him as he left the room.

When he got back to the common room, he quickly slammed out 6 inches of an his essay, then paused, licking his lips as he summoned his History of Magic textbook from all the way across the couch. However, instead of opening the book, he kept it closed, his thoughts centered on his lip-licking. In light of today’s letter, should he stop? He wasn’t sure how he felt about someone being distracted by him licking his lips.

 _I wouldn’t mind if Zach was distracted when I lick my lips_ , he thought, but immediately put an end to that train of thought. The chances that the writer was Zach were very very low, so he shouldn’t think about scenarios involving Zach that were getting less and less likely.

With a sigh, he turned back to his book and opened it to the section on the Giant Wars. And if he licked his lips while he was doing that- well, it was a habit. Those are hard to break.

 

The next morning, Chris woke up feeling a little bit excited. Chances are, there would be another letter today, and although he wanted to get it as soon as possible, he reminded himself that the letter would arrive at the same time that all the other mail did, so there was no reason to eat breakfast early. With that in mind, he went through his routine at normal speed, despite the fact that he was almost abuzz with anticipation.

Chris eventually went down to eat, grabbing 2 bananas, an apple, and an orange and putting them in his bag (History of Magic, which he had before lunch, always made him extra hungry), before sitting down and eating. Not long after, his friend Karl came over from the Hufflepuff table, and asked, “Did you do the essay for Binns?”

“Yeah. You?” Chris replied.

“Did it a few days ago,” Karl said. “How many inches did you write?”

“10 or 11, maybe,” answered Chris. “That should be enough, right?”

“Assuming he even reads them, definitely,” replied Karl. “I think next time we get an essay for History, I’m just going to write nonsense on it and see how he grades it.”

“You do that,” Chris said. “I’ll deny you ever told that plan to me.”

When the owl landed on the table in front of Chris, he quickly untied the letter from its leg and started to read.

_Dear Chris,_

_I could spend a while praising your physical attributes, but I think today I’ll talk about your Quidditch skills. Have you seen yourself playing? You’re one of the best Chasers I’ve ever seen, and I think you could probably go somewhat professional if you wanted to. Seriously, I’m so glad you’re on the Gryffindor Quidditch team- you’re such a wonderful player. (Just please don’t “play” with my heart)._

_With love,_  
 _X_

“What’s that?” asked Karl, reaching for the letter.

“N-nothing, just- I have a secret admirer, apparently,” Chris said. “Just- don’t tell anyone, please?”

“No problem,” replied Karl. He was quiet for a few seconds, then asked, “Who do you think it is?”

“No clue,” Chris said. “Well, Charms and History of Magic await.”

“See you in History,” said Karl as Chris got up.

 

Chris decided that today’s letter didn’t exactly merit talking about it with Zach (as much as he wanted to), so after he’d finished eating lunch, he went up to the Gryffindor tower to practice the Silencing Charm on the cat that probably belonged to someone in Gryffindor. However, when he entered the common room, he saw John sitting on a couch, going over a 3D model of the Quidditch field, complete with wooden players levitating above it.

Chris almost groaned, remembering that there was another early morning practice tomorrow, and then Zach’s words about asking him to reschedule echoed through his head. With that in mind, he walked over to John, and said, “Hey, John?”

“Ye- oh hi, Chris,” John answered.

“Um, look- could you reschedule tomorrow’s practice for some later time?” Chris asked. “It’s just- it’s going to be cold, and dark, and miserable, and we’re barely going to get anything done.”

“I’ve already reserved the field for that time,” replied John, frowning.

“Yeah, but no one else is using the field tomorrow, we could do it between afternoon classes and dinner,” Chris said. “It wouldn’t be as cold or dark, and we’d all be awake instead of half-asleep.”

“I guess,” said John. After a few seconds, he nodded. “Okay, we’ll do it then.”

“Thank you!” Chris exclaimed, pulling John into a hug.

“Yeah,” replied John. “Besides, you’re the best Chaser I’ve ever played with, and with the amount of complaining you do during the morning practices, I was almost scared I’d drive you off the team.”

“Y-yeah,” Chris said, his mind instantly flashing to the letter in his bag. “Excuse me,” he said, hurrying towards the stairs.

When Chris got to his dorm, he opened the letter. The line _“You’re one of the best Chasers I’ve ever seen”_ stared mockingly up at him, taunting him with its similarity to what John had just said.

A horrible thought struck Chris. Was John the writer? He could be- there was the language similarity he had just noted, and although John was a year older, he still fit the profile Chris had drawn up for the writer. Come to think of it, John had started staring at him a lot. Had he been noticing Chris licking his lips and trying to come up with a color to describe his eyes?

 _Could I go out with John?_ Chris thought. Honestly- maybe. John was a nice guy, and he was kind of attractive. He even had a bit of the aesthetic Chris was going for- black hair and dark eyes. Of course, John was entirely Asian, while Zach definitely wasn’t, but John- even if he was pining over Zach, he could probably date John. Maybe.

 _I need to talk to Zach_ , Chris thought. However, looking at the time, he realized he’d wasted half an hour thinking and went back down to the common room. He really needed to practice his Silencing Charm- the crow he had practiced the spell on today in Charms hadn’t shut up the entire class.

After spending a while practicing the charm on the cat (with no more success), Chris went off to Transfiguration. There, at least, he had more success, despite the fact that the Vanishing spell was very hard- he’d always been good at Transfiguration.

After that, he went down to dinner. However, no matter how often he looked around the Hall, he didn’t see Zach. Chris started to get worried- Zach might be sick or injured- but then remembered that Zach was having weekly Potions tutoring lessons. _I’ll just talk to him tomorrow_ , he thought, and with that, went back to the Gryffindor tower, having finished his meal.

Tonight, he was somehow blessedly homework-free, so he got out his old wizard chess set and challenged various people to play with him. After a few games, he packed up the board and went up to his room, where he quickly got changed and went to sleep.

 

When Chris woke up and saw that the sun had partially risen, he panicked, thinking he was late for Quidditch practice. He was halfway out of his bed when he remembered that John had rescheduled the practice for after classes, but that thought reminded him of his theory that John had sent the letters.

He had to talk to Zach about this. With that thought in mind, he got dressed and before he left, he laid out his Quidditch bag and broom on his bed, so they’d be ready for him to grab after class. He went down to the Great Hall, and to his delight, Zach was already there, hunched over the Slytherin table, nursing a hot beverage.

“Hey Zach, can we talk during lunch?” Chris asked.

Zach turned slowly and looked up at him with a bleary-eyed gaze. “Shouldn’t you be at Quidditch practice?” he asked.

“I took your advice and asked John to reschedule, and he did. That’s- actually kind of what I want to talk to you about,” said Chris. “But later, okay? When you’re awake.”

“I’m awake,” Zach grumbled. “My eyes are open.”

“No you’re not, but that’s okay,” Chris teased. “Anyway, I have to go eat now. See you later!”

He walked towards the Gryffindor table and grabbed a banana and an apple, then sat down. When the sound of owls arriving started, he looked up, searching for the owl that might bear today’s letter.

After a minute, an owl swooped down towards him. As soon as it landed, Chris untied the letter, opening it with a sense of excitement.

_Dear Chris,_

_While we’re talking about non-physical attributes, your mind is something I find immensely appealing about you. With how well you do in classes, it’s a wonder you’re not in Ravenclaw, but I guess your bravery and courage trump your curiosity. I know you worry a lot about school, but believe me, with a mind as brilliant as yours, you will never fail at anything you apply yourself to ~~including being in a relationship with me, perhaps?~~_

_With love,_  
 _X_

_Well_ , thought Chris, _whoever is writing this is certainly getting bolder_. Again, he looked around the hall, and caught Karl looking at him from the Hufflepuff table, but no one else was looking at him.

After stuffing the letter into his bag, he got up and went outside to the Herbology greenhouses. _At least I have another free period after this_ , Chris thought. He was probably going to have to shower after this, because otherwise he’d be talking to Zach covered in dirt.

 

Today’s lunch was meatloaf, so Chris had to actually sit down and eat it. He went through it as quickly as possible without giving himself indigestion. When he was finished eating, he looked around and spotted Zach at the Slytherin table. As he walked over, he saw that Zach was almost done eating, and decided to stand a few yards away.

When Zach was finished eating, Chris walked over and tapped Zach on the shoulder. “Let’s go,” he said.

“Give me a sec, Chris,” said Zach. He grabbed his bag and stood up, and they walked out of the hall together.

Once they were in an empty classroom, they sat down on a window- this one overlooking the lake- and Chris said, “I think John might be writing the letters.”

“John?” Zach asked, looking surprised.

“Yeah,” Chris said shortly. “He, um, said something to me yesterday that was really similar to the letter I got yesterday, and, I just- I _think_ it might be him, but I’m not sure.”

“I see,” said Zach eventually. “And if he is?”

“I mean, he’s nice, and kind of attractive, but- I don’t really feel anything for him, y’know?” Chris replied. “What should I do?”

“Well firstly, you don’t know that it’s actually him,” said Zach. When Chris opened his mouth, Zach held up a hand. “No, hear me out, okay? Firstly, you _don’t know_ if it’s him. Secondly, if it’s him, I’d advise going on a date with him, see if it works, and if not, oh well. Thirdly, if it’s not him, chances are the writer will ask you on a date tomorrow, and even then, you can say yes or no.”

“What if I say no and they don’t listen?” asked Chris worriedly.

“Then I’ll jinx them until they get the hint,” replied Zach. When Chris smiled at that, Zach said, “Not that you couldn’t jinx them yourself, too.”

“True. Should I use the Bat-bogey jinx or the Jelly-legs jinx?” said Chris.

“I think you should consider that for yourself and use any jinx only if you feel it’s necessary,” answered Zach. “Honestly though? Chances are, you won’t have to jinx anyone.” As he said that, he smiled slightly.

“Okay,” Chris said. “I have to go now, get my Quidditch gear. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, see you,” replied Zach as Chris got up and left.

 

After Quidditch practice (which went much better than the previous one) Chris returned to the Great Hall for dinner. When he sat down, he grabbed a drumstick, a piece of dill-sauce-glazed salmon, some potatoes, and spinach.

“Someone’s hungry,” said Alice as she looked at his plate.

“Practice is hard work, which makes me hungry,” Chris retorted. “Besides, I still have to work on my Silencing charm after dinner.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” groaned Zoe as she sat down. “I barely managed to get my bird to be silent in class.”

“Tell me about it,” Chris replied. “I think if I get an A or lower on my Charms O.W.L, I’m just not going to take it next year.”

“You’ll do fine, Chris,” said Alice. “You always do well in class.”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Chris. “I guess I just have to apply myself.”

“Exactly,” replied Zoe. “You do that, you’ll be just fine.”

 

When Chris woke up on Friday morning, there was a palpable change in the air. Maybe it was just him, or maybe it was the fact that today was Valentine’s Day and everyone was excited, or maybe it was some combination of the two that had his stomach twisting itself into loops. After all, if Chris’s secret admirer was going to ask him out, today would be the day.

As Chris went down the hall to eat breakfast, he noticed that the castle was covered with pink and red hearts and ribbons. In the Great Hall, things were no better. All the candles were now also pink and red, the pancakes were heart-shaped, and all of the jelly flavors seemed to be based on pink and red fruits.

Chris grabbed 3 apples today, since there were no bananas, and sat down to eat anyway, his hunger winning out over his disgust at all the pink and red food. When the rustling started, Chris looked up, and managed to spot the owl headed towards him before it landed, a letter tied to its leg and a single red rose held in its beak.

Chris took the rose and untied the letter. He quickly opened it and started to read.

_Dear Chris_

_Getting back to complimenting your physical attributes, you have a really wonderful ass. It’s so round and lovely, especially in some of the tighter pants you wear. The things I’d do to your ass don’t really bear mentioning in a letter, but perhaps, if you come to the Astronomy tower tonight at 8:30 with the rose, I’d be willing to talk to you about what I’d like to do (among other things, of course)._

_With love,_  
 _X_

After Chris finished reading the letter, he hurried over to the Slytherin table and tapped Zach on the shoulder. “Zach. Come with me really quickly?”

“Sure,” said Zach as he stood up. “Excuse me for a second, people.”

When they exited the Great Hall, Chris dragged Zach to a corner and said, “He- asked me out. Gave me a time, and place, and told me to bring a rose that he sent with the letter.”

“Well, do you think you’ll go?” asked Zach.

“He talked about my ass,” Chris said.

“That doesn’t seem like the best thing to talk about, but- what are you going to lose if you go? Who knows, you might like the guy,” said Zach.

“What if I don’t like him though?” asked Chris.

“You can always jinx him if that’s the case,” replied Zach. “Did he say when and where to meet?”

“8:30, Astronomy tower. He might have something planned,” Chris said.

“He probably will, so my advice? Wear some nice clothes, show up, try to enjoy yourself,” said Zach. “Now, I have to go to Potions, so I’ll see you later.”

“See you,” Chris echoed as Zach walked off. He stood there for a minute before going back into the hall, sticking the rose into his pocket and grabbing his bag, before going off to class.

 

At 8 pm, Chris sat on his bed, looking at one of his nicer shirts, a pair of jeans that hugged his ass, his nice leather shoes, and the rose sitting on top of the clothing. _Come on, Chris_ , he thought. _You can do this_.

When he looked at his watch, it read 8:05, so he quickly took off his regular clothes and changed. After that was done, he spent a few minutes in the bathroom, fussing with his face, before looking down again and seeing that almost 10 minutes had passed. He went down to the common room, which thankfully had few people in it, and stood by the fire for a few minutes.

At 8:20, he left the common room and started heading towards the astronomy tower, and arrived there just before 8:30. There wasn’t anyone waiting outside, so Chris opened the door and looked out. There was someone sitting on a blanket against the wall, someone whose profile Chris knew better than his own.

“Zach? What are you doing here?” Chris asked, stepping onto the roof.

“Chris- you came,” said Zach, a smile lighting up his face. “Come on, sit down- the blanket should be warm.”

“I- wait. _You’ve_ been the writer?” Chris asked incredulously.

“Yes?” Zach replied, starting to look a bit nervous.

“But- you- I thought it _couldn’t_ be you,” Chris exclaimed.

“Why not?” asked Zach.

“Because I thought- there was no way- no way on _earth_ you’d ever like me back,” Chris said.

Zach looked at Chris disbelievingly. “Of course I lo-like you, how could I not?” he said. “Like I said, you’re amazing and wonderful and fantastic and- mmph.”

The mmph, of course, was because Chris had leaned over and finally – _finally_ \- captured Zach’s lips with his own. It was a bit awkward- the angle they were at ensured that their noses were smashed together rather inelegantly, but Chris didn’t even care, because he was _kissing Zach_.

“Just so you know,” Chris said when he broke away. “That’s a yes to being in a relationship with you.”

“Good,” said Zach, grinning widely, as he pulled Chris down into another kiss.


End file.
